Carney says lower internal trade barriers will help Canada more than Trump’s tariffs will harm it
TORONTO: Prime Minister Mark Carney stated on Thursday that eliminating trade barriers within Canada would benefit Canadians far more than US President Donald Trump could ever take away with his trade war. Carney made the remarks during the final debate ahead of the April 28 vote, as he sought to retain power.
Carney has set a target of achieving free trade across Canada’s 10 provinces and three territories by 1 July. Interprovincial trade barriers have long existed in the country.
“We can give ourselves far more than Donald Trump can ever take away,” Carney said. “We can have one economy. This is within our grasp.”
Carney noted that Canada’s relationship with the US, established over the past 40 years, has fundamentally changed due to Trump’s tariffs. If re-elected, Carney plans to immediately initiate trade talks with the Trump administration.
“We are facing the biggest crisis of our lifetimes. Donald Trump is trying to fundamentally change the world economy, the trading system, but really he’s trying to break us so the US can own us. They want our land, they want our resources, they want our water, they want our country,” Carney said in his closing statement. “I am ready, and I have managed crises over the years. We will fight back with counter tariffs, and we will protect our workers.”
Trump’s trade war and threats to make Canada the 51st state have angered Canadians, fuelling a surge in Canadian nationalism that has boosted Liberal Party poll numbers.
Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has urged Canadians not to grant the Liberals a fourth term. He aimed to make the election a referendum on Justin Trudeau, whose popularity waned towards the end of his decade in power due to rising food and housing prices and increased immigration.
However, following Trump’s attacks, Trudeau resigned, and Carney, a two-time central banker, became Liberal Party leader and prime minister last month after a leadership race.
“It may be difficult, Mr Poilievre. You spent years running against Justin Trudeau and the carbon tax, and they are both gone,” Carney said. “I am a very different person than Justin Trudeau.”
Public opinion has shifted. A mid-January poll by Nanos showed the Liberals trailing the Conservative Party by 47% to 20%. However, the latest Nanos poll released on Thursday showed the Liberals leading by 5 percentage points. The January poll had a margin of error of 3.1 points, while the latest poll had a margin of 2.7 points.
“We can’t afford a fourth Liberal term of rising housing costs,” Poilievre said.
Poilievre accused Carney’s Liberals of hostility towards Canada’s energy sector and pipelines. He claimed the Liberals had weakened the economy and vowed that a Conservative government would repeal “anti-energy laws, red tape and high taxes.”
“We need a change, and you, sir, are not a change,” Poilievre said during one exchange.
By RSS/AP
